


Things I love

by iloveitblue



Series: Prompts [161]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-07 03:58:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3160346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Clint has many tattoos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things I love

If anybody ever asked him, Phil Coulson would say that it was an accident he even found out about the tattoos.

A welcome addition to the completely hypothetical yet accurate, totally not a notebook in the bottom most drawer of his desk, book he’s writing entitled ‘ _Things aren’t always what they seem: An observation of the World’s Greatest Marksman’._ Still, it’s amazing how thick the notebook had become in the short years he’d known Clint. Not that it existed in any way or form.

He’d only intended to drag Clint to the Med bay to get his post-op check. Instead, he saw a half naked Clint Barton, tightening his belt and grabbing a shirt from his locker. 

Now, it’s actually true what they say about Clint Barton’s shirts: they leave nothing to the imagination. Except of course for the fact that Clint’s side was covered with tattoos. 

The black-inked tattoos covered most of his left side, snaking from his hip to just underneath his collarbone. They were tastefully arranged in a way that made it seem like just a bunch of complicated swirls unless you look closer. Which Phil did. 

He recognized only a few of them. There was a backpack, tick marks, a car, a pair of sunglasses, a tie, an arrow, a bow, a boat, a sign for a motel, and… was that a pizza?

Clint put on the deep purple shirt, covering the beautiful work of art and slams his locker shut. Phil jerked back from his daze and Clint flinched when he found Phil standing by the door.

"I already went to medical." Clint says automatically.

Phil finds it amusing and shows just as much as he steps closer towards the archer.

Clint pouts. “You think I’m lying.” It wasn’t a question. “I did though. I even got a lollipop and everything!” Clint was grinning now.

"What was that?" Phil asks instead, because as much as he values Clint’s privacy, he’s really curious as to what the tattoos actually were. If Clint refused to share then Phil was going to back off, no further questions asked.

"A lollipop. You know, those candies you get when you behave like a good little assassin in med bay?"

Phil rolled his eyes fondly, “Not that. I meant that.” He said pointing to Clint’s left side.

It took Clint a second to realize that it probably wasn’t an insect or something else on his shirt but the tattoo hidden underneath. “A tattoo. Well,” It took him another second to take off his shirt, and boy was that a sight for sore eyes. “A bunch of tattoos actually. Cool, right?”

Phil held out his hand as if to touch but recoiled mid way, remembering that Clint had a thing about personal space.

"You can touch it if you like. It’s not gonna bite you."

Phil is surprised but takes the invitation for what it is. He traces the lines and identifies as many objects as he can that he didn’t see before. “What are they?”

Clint shrugs, “Bunch of stuff. Things I like, Things I love, Places I’ve seen, Memories that I can’t forget. It’s all there. This is my autobiography.”

Phil huffs a laugh when he sees the Big Top tent. The circus then. The Black Widow’s insignia was also there. Clint’s rifle. His recurve. A bunch of stuff that referenced his time in SHIELD, Phil’s been with him on some of them too, so he kind of knows what some of the pictures were referring to. 

"What about this?" Phil’s finger stops on Clint’s chest, pointing at a pair of shades and a red tie - practically the only colored piece in the whole thing. Phil tries to remember if Clint’s ever taken down a big bad boss with a tie and a pair of shades and found that yes, he has. multiple times actually. Like more than 50 of them. It’s practically a fashion statement for big bad bosses.

When Clint doesn’t answer right away, Phil looks up to assure him that it’s okay if Clint doesn’t want to answer but is stopped short when he notices that Clint’s ears had gone red. He’s also flapping his mouth like a fish, trying to mumble words out.

"It’s- um- It’s this- Well, how do I explain it? Um…" Clint tries. He sighs in defeat. "You have to promise not to laugh first." Clint’s face was determined, embarrassed but determined nonetheless. Phil nods in agreement. "Remember when I said earlier that these were images of things that I love? that made a mark in my life?" Phil nods again. "Well, this is someone that’s made the most mark in my life. He’s- he’s the one I hold closest to my heart. I thought it’d only be right to put him on top of my heart. I know, I know. It’s cheesy and it’s pathetic. You can quit laughing now."

But Phil wasn’t laughing. “It’s not cheesy Clint. It’s beautiful. It’s not pathetic, either. If he’s stupid enough to let someone like you get away, then that’s his loss. Not yours.”

Clint seemed to run out of words, which was something for someone like Clint. “I- um- Thanks.” He smiled sweetly at Phil. “I don’t think he knows I’m head over heels for him though. If he does, I doubt he’ll ever see me in the same light. I’m not sure if he’s playing with me or he just doesn’t see it” 

Phil tries to tone down the jealousy he feels boiling in his gut. Whoever this asshole was, Phil’s going to find him and make it clear never to hurt Clint, or there will be consequences. Phil is diplomatically immune in 36 countries, an ex-ranger, knows 138 ways to torture a man, and has a shovel in his car trunk. He’s not above mentioning these to threaten someone. 

"Have you tried telling him?"

"No, I- I freeze up when I’m about to ask, and what would I even say?" Clint frowns down at the ground.

"Just take a deep breath and speak as you exhale. Say the first thing that comes to your mind when you’re in front of him." Phil may be horribly jealous but he’s also Clint’s friend and that beats jealousy every single time.

Clint nods at Phil. He takes a deep breath and says in a rush, “Do you wanna have dinner with me?”

"That’s good. Just like that." Phil tells him. "Now, you can do the real thing."

"That was the real thing." Clint says to him, not taking his eyes off of Phil. 

Phil’s brain shorts out for a couple of seconds before it reboots and understands what Clint just said. “Me?” He says intelligently at the archer.

"I understand if you don’t want-" Clint’s sentence is cut off when Phil mashed their lips together. It wasn’t the perfect first kiss books often told you about. It was painful and more of a press of lips than a kiss but then Phil eased up, his hand snaking from Clint’s neck to his still wet hair and Clint tilted his face just a bit, his hands snaking around Phil’s waist, and it was everything they’d ever dreamt about. "So, Can I take that as a yes?" Clint asks when their faces eventually drift apart, their lips still brushing.

"Absolutely." Phil says and smiles into a lingering kiss. "One thing though." 

"What?"

"Why the pizza?"

"Who doesn’t like pizza?"

**Author's Note:**

> [Here on tumblr](http://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/post/107805303506/i-spent-too-much-for-a-burger-that-didnt-even)


End file.
